Database Users

does anyone know the sprint hero price without contract?

I'm looking to upgrade from my dream to the hero.
The phone from Sprint is 180 w/ contract.
I want to get the phone and unlock it.
Does anyone know how much the phone Withought the contract is?
Thanks in advance

Sprint is a CDMA network. It doesn't use SIM card, and the user data is stored on the phone. You cannot use it on other networks.
So getting it without contract is just... without contract. You need to be on Sprint's network for it to work.

well looks like im switching to sprint lol
sorry for my ignorance

tsekh501 said:
Sprint is a CDMA network. It doesn't use SIM card, and the user data is stored on the phone. You cannot use it on other networks.
So getting it without contract is just... without contract. You need to be on Sprint's network for it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummmm.... JUst cause it's a CDMA network, doesn't limit it to Sprint. It can be unlocked & flased to Metro PCS, US Cellular, Page Plus, Virgin, Verizion and numerous other local or regional CDMA networks. Just need to have the know-how.

$599
Bestbuy`s going to charge $599 to buy it out right. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9509784&type=product&id=1218120547637

JBachman said:
Ummmm.... JUst cause it's a CDMA network, doesn't limit it to Sprint. It can be unlocked & flased to Metro PCS, US Cellular, Page Plus, Virgin, Verizion and numerous other local or regional CDMA networks. Just need to have the know-how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theoretically you can swap the radio chip inside and add a sim card slot too add GSM support too. I don't want to waste time arguing with you on that, but if you do know how to unlock a Sprint CDMA phone to use on Verizon yourself, congrats, you can make big bucks with that knowledge.
BTW, to those who are considering getting onto Sprint for the Hero, note that Sprint's network cannot do voice and data simultaneously, so if you are downloading stuff, you won't be able to receive. It's like the GPRS problem on GSM network, it's just that current Sprint network faces that problem even on 3G.

tsekh501 said:
Theoretically you can swap the radio chip inside and add a sim card slot too add GSM support too. I don't want to waste time arguing with you on that, but if you do know how to unlock a Sprint CDMA phone to use on Verizon yourself, congrats, you can make big bucks with that knowledge.
BTW, to those who are considering getting onto Sprint for the Hero, note that Sprint's network cannot do voice and data simultaneously, so if you are downloading stuff, you won't be able to receive. It's like the GPRS problem on GSM network, it's just that current Sprint network faces that problem even on 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's not true, if you are downloading something and someone calls the download stops and the call is recieved. atleast that is how it has worked with my touch pro, vogue, and titan.

pknyo said:
Bestbuy`s going to charge $599 to buy it out right. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9509784&type=product&id=1218120547637
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah I'm just going to add a line, cancel my current line with the Palm Pre and good enough. Gotta love Google Voice.
Figure I can maybe sell my Pre for the cost of the ETF. Although there isn't much demand for them for obvious reasons.

JBachman said:
Ummmm.... JUst cause it's a CDMA network, doesn't limit it to Sprint. It can be unlocked & flased to Metro PCS, US Cellular, Page Plus, Virgin, Verizion and numerous other local or regional CDMA networks. Just need to have the know-how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I understand, CDMA networks need to register the ESN of your device to their network, but most CDMA networks (at least Sprint and Verizon) no longer allow the registration of ESNs that were originally registered to other networks. Apparently Verizon used to allow 3rd party ESNs, but no longer do this, but I cannot find any "official" confirmation of this.
i.e. if you have a Sprint phone, it will have a Sprint ESN and Verizon would refuse to add this to their database.
I believe there are methods to clone another ESN onto a new phone, but I've no idea how "legal" this is.
Regards,
Dave

foxmeister said:
As I understand, CDMA networks need to register the ESN of your device to their network, but most CDMA networks (at least Sprint and Verizon) no longer allow the registration of ESNs that were originally registered to other networks. Apparently Verizon used to allow 3rd party ESNs, but no longer do this, but I cannot find any "official" confirmation of this.
i.e. if you have a Sprint phone, it will have a Sprint ESN and Verizon would refuse to add this to their database.
I believe there are methods to clone another ESN onto a new phone, but I've no idea how "legal" this is.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never made mention of the legalities of the process.... I was just stating that it can be done. I do it for Metro phones all the time. I also "heard" it is possible to unlock unlimited data for smartphones on Metro as well.....

tsekh501 said:
BTW, to those who are considering getting onto Sprint for the Hero, note that Sprint's network cannot do voice and data simultaneously, so if you are downloading stuff, you won't be able to receive. It's like the GPRS problem on GSM network, it's just that current Sprint network faces that problem even on 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of people don't care about that, so stop trying to pee on Sprint and claim it's raining. Geez... If i'm Youtube(ing) and a call comes in, fine, i take the call, finish the call and then continue what i was doing.

pknyo said:
Bestbuy`s going to charge $599 to buy it out right. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9509784&type=product&id=1218120547637
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is BestBuy's modus operandi..which is charging more (lots more) than even Sprint's MSRP. So if one is considering buying at full price without contact, go to Sprint directly. The flip side is that they usually have better new/upgrade-contract prices than Sprint since BestBuy doesn't do mail-in-rebates, they make it instant.
Some folks on spintusers.com are claiming $429.99 Sprint full price.

LordLugard said:
This is BestBuy's modus operandi..which is charging more (lots more) than even Sprint's MSRP. So if one is considering buying at full price without contact, go to Sprint directly. The flip side is that they usually have better new/upgrade-contract prices than Sprint since BestBuy doesn't do mail-in-rebates, they make it instant.
Some folks on spintusers.com are claiming $429.99 Sprint full price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Sprint is charging $429.99 full retail. At least according to their own website.
http://www.sprint.com/hero (read the fine print)
And why the F is Best Buy charging so damn much??!! That is just rediculous! Doesn't best buy do price matching?? Couldn't I go into a store and say hey, sprint is only charging 429.99, hook me up?

.........$429.99.........

Free, with a catch
(I know this is a shameless plug, however)
Today - Sprint made three announcements around support for the Android Platform.
1: Launched a section dedicated to Android development support on Sprint devices at http://developer.sprint.com/android
- Showcase how to utilize free Sprint network services such as LBS (where are my friends/co-workers / Geofencing, Messaging, Presence)
- We also have some initial FAQs to address developing for Sprint Android
- We will continue to add content to the section and looking for any developer feedback on this
Announced Extensive Plans to Showcase Android at our upcoming Sprint Developer Conference:
2: Want an HTC Hero Android Device ?
Sprint is partnering with HTC to give away 400 HTC hero devices at our upcoming Sprint Developer Conference, http://developer.sprint.com/devcon2009
. The 400 devices will be provisioned for one month of service, and will be given to the first 400 attendees of the Android coding lab
being held the evening of Oct 26. Mark Murphy of CommonsWare will
lead the Android platform training session. Murphy has published three guides on Android development and writes the “Building 'Droids” column for AndroidGuys and the “Android Angle” column for NetworkWorld.
3: Google will be presenting at the Sprint Developer Conference, Wed Oct 28 from 8:30am - 11:00am. Topics covered will incude the Android Marketplace as well as Android Technical SMEs discussing development best practices.
We look forward to seeing you all at the conference, and look for any feedback on developing on the Sprint Android devices

Sprint hero on VZW

Hi I am wondering if I can activate a sprint hero on a vzw network and if so would they force me to get a dataplan. I really would like and android phone but don't want a dataplan. I am near wifi most of the time. I thought about cloning esns with the new eris but since it would be to avoid fees I think it would land me in some trouble.
What do you guys think? I thought about the vx6900 but no wifi and the bluetooth doesn't work in their build.
Thanks,
Isaac.S

why not just get the eris ....its the same thing as the hero but with out sprints crapware on it???

I don't think they would allow the handset to be activated. Plus, you'd have to start a sprint contract, cancel it, get charged for the device in order to get the thing in the first place.
As 702 said, just get an Eris, it's the same device and meant for VZW. Personally, I don't see why you would want to pay the much higher plan costs for VZW anyway.

Well I wouldn't mind switching but friends are all on verizon and it has the best coverage where I am. I would be purchasing a full price device from sprint to activate on verizon and selling my upgrade device ie droid or eris. What I am trying to avoid is shelling out an additional 30 a month for data.

Having a phone that relies so much on the internet might be kind of pointless without a data plan.
Also, with Sprint's "any mobile" it won't cost you a cent (or minutes) to call them Sprint to VZW. Nor will it cost you if they call you.
The device cost thing isn't a hurdle if you can afford it, which you seem to be able to.
The big hurdle is getting VZW to add the MEID to their database and allowing the handset onto the network. I don't think they will from prior attempts of my own.

thanks for the meid info ekinnee. I thought I had heard that verizon is pretty good about adding devices but maybe I was wrong about that.
Thanks,
Isaac.S

isaacws said:
thanks for the meid info ekinnee. I thought I had heard that verizon is pretty good about adding devices but maybe I was wrong about that.
Thanks,
Isaac.S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some are, some aren't...you're kindof at the mercy of whatever store reps you get (Verizon has a big thing a while back about being willing to put any device on their network). Best bet is to ask the VZ Rep.
EDIT: I do believe they will still force you into a dataplan. The store I went to used to do datablocks and they claimed they couldn't (either through technology or policy) do that on newer smartphones. Just about every provider requires a data plan for smartphones these days.

In my opinion, as like many of the others that posted here, I would just get it on Sprint. With Sprint, you now get unlimited free calling to ANY cell phone, even if it is on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, you name it. Also, I have a feeling eventually someone is going to come out with a way to enable "Roaming Only" in the Hero... which basically means if you enable it, you will ALWAYS be using Verizon's service instead of Sprint. Also, Sprint is cheaper, so I'd just go with Sprint if I were you.

Taking the Sprint Hero to Verizon

I know that Sprint and Verizon both use CDMA for their phones, but does anyone know if I could take my Sprint Hero to Verizon's network and have working coverage?
My sister just bought a Verizon phone and she has full coverage, with 3G, but my Hero frequently says it is roaming.

you can try... probably not gunna be easy to get them to enter that MEID into their system.

sprint doesnt charge extra for roaming UNLESS like, 60% of your calls are roaming, or something like that. In that case, they will actually call you and say "You're roaming too much, you should go to another cell phone provider" (unless the reps in my store are lying to people, lol... I just started working for sprint a couple weeks ago. Lots of people ask about roaming here)

No, Sprint doesn't charge for roaming, but if 60% of your minutes are roaming for 3+ months, they WILL call to discuss terminating your contract. As for Verizon taking on your hero, no, they 99% most likely will not. It's a VERY rare occasion they let a non verizon device on their network.

would be plenty easy to just sell your hero for a decent price and go to Verizon and get the Droid..

boredmug said:
would be plenty easy to just sell your hero for a decent price and go to Verizon and get the Droid..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eww the droid?! id rather have an Eris. at least its HTC and u can still hang on XDA
HTC 4-life!!!

lol.. i'm not a big motorola fan, but i do like the high resolution screen..

I thought VZW used slightly different bands for EvDO than Sprint? Or maybe I'm just imagining that since AT&T uses different bands... hm.
Seriously, if you have that much of a coverage problem, I'd talk to Sprint about cancelling without an ETF. May have to talk to their retentions department... someone who works for Sprint could shed more light.
(Personally I'd switch to T-Mobile over VZW. Cheaper, and you have an international-standard GSM device ;P)

Highly unlikely Verizon will activate it since it is not in their ESN database even though they use the same bands. Sprint won't activate Verizon phones either.

Moe2005 said:
Highly unlikely Verizon will activate it since it is not in their ESN database even though they use the same bands. Sprint won't activate Verizon phones either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, if the phone doesnt say sprint either on the phone or in the firmware they will not activate it on their network.

Is_907 said:
I thought VZW used slightly different bands for EvDO than Sprint? Or maybe I'm just imagining that since AT&T uses different bands... hm.
Seriously, if you have that much of a coverage problem, I'd talk to Sprint about cancelling without an ETF. May have to talk to their retentions department... someone who works for Sprint could shed more light.
(Personally I'd switch to T-Mobile over VZW. Cheaper, and you have an international-standard GSM device ;P)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cheaper but they are way behind on there 3g network they're the reason i switched to VZW

brinox said:
yup, if the phone doesnt say sprint either on the phone or in the firmware they will not activate it on their network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to activate non-vzw phones all the time. However, smartphones may not be handled the same.

pretty sure they'll take it...they started their "any app, any device" initiative in 2008

they won't take it. they specifically said they will only activate a phone if it's either unbranded or verizon branded. sprint branding is a no go.

jamezelle said:
cheaper but they are way behind on there 3g network they're the reason i switched to VZW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Around here they're pretty much the same. Also, I imagine where I am is on the short list for HSPA+ from TMo.
Anyway, this is a tangent heh.

I don't think you can swap phones between the CDMA sprint network and the Verizon CDMA network. Don't they use different parts of the spectrum?

giovannizero said:
I don't think you can swap phones between the CDMA sprint network and the Verizon CDMA network. Don't they use different parts of the spectrum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about the different parts of the spectrum, but you can definitely move a phone between Sprint and Verizon (from a technical point of view). But you'll have a hard time getting Sprint to activate a Verizon phone on their network. Not sure about a Sprint phone on a Verizon network, but they did make a big deal about their "any device" announcement in 2008, which said that they would allow you to use any CDMA phone.

1. while talk of changing esn is strickly verbotten(i believe?) if one were to find a htc hero that had somehow become corrupt and the meid had been changed to all 00000000000000000's it would be possible to fix with qxdm (the htc hero is essentially the sprint branded htc droid eris)
2. in order to activate phones on the vzw network generally one would *228 ota a cellphone, however in the ota process a vzw phones SPC is (almost)always 000000 while the hero from sprint has a SPC which is a randomly(?) generated number
3. a proper vzw PRL must be loaded to a phone in order to make calls on the vzw network
4. MDN/MIN SID must be properly programmed in order to make calls on the vzw network
5. at this point you will likely need the assistance of a nice vzw tech, as the phone will 611 to vzw, but will not make calls (afaik this is due to a-key authentication?)
if you get the right person at vzw, ask the right questions(why doesnt my vzw branded phone call?), and you have performed the other steps correctly you should have TALK and TXT within 5 min
note:
-you will still show you are roaming all the time (now ALL the time actually)
-afaik visual voicemail does not work
-if you want data expect to use WIFI or spend a good amount of time studying another VZW handsets various data settings and a good amount of time on VZW support(have not even tried this)
-neither i nor xda are responsible for what you do to your phones and as always anything you do is at your own risk!

Something wierd happended last night. I was trying to install that JIt Dalvik install by following the direction on the gumbo 1.5c. I also attempted to used the mapdroyd app Any event after a reboot I had and when it loaded no signal showed , a damaged SD card sign showed. When attempting to place a call it asked me to dial *228 nothing would result of it . Any event a reformat and install on the OS again fixed. All.Any one know of any reason why that would of happened. I was truly experimenting out of curiosity

I can, and its been done
I would like everyone to know I just spent the last 3 days figuring ALL of this out.
As my understanding is, you can change esn as long as you are and "authorized user" and your not stealing anything, therefore if I have two phones I paid for, and I have service with Verizon (which makes me and authorized user as per their TOS.)
then its not illegal. Anyways, for the sake of education it is possible.
I've swapped out my esn/meid. Transferred all my info via qxdm service programming. uploaded a verizon prl. rooted. and now im looking for a suitable Verizon based rom for the hero... I'm attempting to put a stock 2.1 eris rom on right now. (btw the phone texted and called just fine, I just want to have a complete verizon based rom for the finishing touches)

EVO 4G Would it work on Boost?

Im just curious if i were to buy this phone off contract if i could have it activated with boost? i know 4G would be out of the question but would it get 3G if possible?

You'd have to wait for people to find a way to get it to recognize Boost's connection settings. My Touch Pro, for example, required at least a dozen changes in the registry and connection setup in order to work with Metro PCS.
Unless Android explicitly prohibits this, and I kind of doubt that, there could be a way to get this phone to work with Boost if somebody were to try.

you can get the hero on boost I talked to a guy that did it, evdo never worked from what I remembered, had to get into the programming but it wasn't the hardest thing ever. It will take a lot of patience and lot of work to get all that sorted out.
If you are wanting a quick port, look elsewhere, the hero has been done, might go that route, but the method should be very much similar with the evo.
I'll do my normal speel once I get my evo in how to get into the programming menus, what works, what doesn't ..how to get your msl and the lot, I can try and help with the programming it's self, but I'm sure there are lots of others that can take it from there.

Technically any Sprint CDMA phone can work on Boost CDMA, it's just that Sprint chooses what phones go on what network. SO the cool phones go on the contract network (Sprint) while the prepaid network (Boost) gets the "crappy" phones. This is why i'm considering switching to a GSM carrier so i can get a phone of choice and just pop in a SIM.
I used to know some folks **cough** cough** who could do all this switcheroo on certain phones to Boost CDMA but the Evo is a new beast which would be hard. The phones are getting more complex and locked down more and more.
Really all it takes is for Sprint not to lock down the Evo ESN's to specific plans/features/codes in their system...but that's NEVER going to happen, mate.

[Q] Unlock driod 2 for sprint????

hey just wondering if i could prehaphs unlock or reflash a droid 2 for sprint? i have an evo 4g getting board.... and kinda want a droid with a board thanks for your help

Nismo-b15 said:
hey just wondering if i could prehaphs unlock or reflash a droid 2 for sprint? i have an evo 4g getting board.... and kinda want a droid with a board thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure you can do that since Verizon and Sprint have different types of networks. Maybe a Droid 2 Global?

Verizon and Sprint actually do have the same type of network (they both use CDMA), but it would be next to impossible to get a phone from one network activated on the other. Unfortunately, it isn't like the SIM cards, where you can just unlock the phone and put in another carrier's SIM. From what I hear, Verizon won't activate an ESN (device identifier) that isn't from a device they have sold.
Not sure about Sprint, but I haven't heard of anyone successfully doing it in a LONG time.

actually, they dont operate on different network types. sprint and verizon both definitely run on CDMA, and their phones can technically function on either network. the problem is that the IMEI's for each network are only valid on their respective network. If your IMEI is not on the particular network then it will not activate on that network.
the general rule of thumb with sprint and verizon phones: if it doesnt have the corresponding carrier branding on the phone in some fashion, then it will not activate on that particular network.
Also, carrier reps for both of these carriers will not add in your IMEI no matter how much money you say you will throw at them.

Phoible said:
Verizon and Sprint actually do have the same type of network (they both use CDMA), but it would be next to impossible to get a phone from one network activated on the other. Unfortunately, it isn't like the SIM cards, where you can just unlock the phone and put in another carrier's SIM. From what I hear, Verizon won't activate an ESN (device identifier) that isn't from a device they have sold.
Not sure about Sprint, but I haven't heard of anyone successfully doing it in a LONG time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies for being misinformed.

I use to have a BB storm and once you "unlocked" it you could use it on other networks. I seem to recall a lively discussion on crackberry.com regarding which networks with which it would work. Now perhaps that's because the storm had CDMA/GSM capabilities, but I'm not sure.

I had a Storm as well. When you unlocked it, you could get it to work on AT&T and T-Mobile, because it was a global phone with a SIM card. You couldn't get 3G on any of the US Carriers, since the 3G frequencies are different in the US and in the rest of the world (so the data would be confined to slow 2G rates).
I did see a rumor recently that T-Mobile eventually did something to lock US Storms out of their networks.
http://crackberry.com/t-mobile-killing-service-unlocked-storm-devices
If you get the Droid 2 Global, you should be able to unlock it and run it on AT&T or T-Mobile with a SIM card. You most likely won't be able to get 3G, though. Probably not worth it.
Hopefully, when Verizon switches to LTE some time in the next year, the phones will be compatible across carriers. From what I understand, Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are all switching to LTE. It sounds like Sprint is investigating, and my guess is that they will go that direction (ditching WiMax in the long-term). However, I wouldn't put it past the carriers to lock other US devices out of their networks.
Regardless, this won't help much with getting a device to run on Sprint. I'm sure that there will be some more cool Android Devices coming out for Sprint in the future.

A colleague of mine recently activated a DROID X on Sprint, but it was a hassle all around.
Programming the phone through QPST was annoying but doable, it was getting the phone's ESN added to the Sprint database that was a real hassle.
Eventually, my colleague had to work with somebody in Overland Park, KS. (Sprint's HQ) to get it done. After 11 phone calls to Sprint Customer Service (which were totally clueless), he finally sent a FedEx to Steve Elfman's office (President Network Operations) before anybody at Sprint was willing to even consider the addition. A few days after the Fedex was received, somebody from Mr. Elfman's office called my colleague back and worked with him to accomplish the addition.
After all is said and done, my colleague is happy that his DROID X is now on Sprint, but he has said a few times now that it really was not worth the effort that he had to put into it to get it accomplished.
Dan

dan1431 said:
A colleague of mine recently activated a DROID X on Sprint, but it was a hassle all around.
Programming the phone through QPST was annoying but doable, it was getting the phone's ESN added to the Sprint database that was a real hassle.
Eventually, my colleague had to work with somebody in Overland Park, KS. (Sprint's HQ) to get it done. After 11 phone calls to Sprint Customer Service (which were totally clueless), he finally sent a FedEx to Steve Elfman's office (President Network Operations) before anybody at Sprint was willing to even consider the addition. A few days after the Fedex was received, somebody from Mr. Elfman's office called my colleague back and worked with him to accomplish the addition.
After all is said and done, my colleague is happy that his DROID X is now on Sprint, but he has said a few times now that it really was not worth the effort that he had to put into it to get it accomplished.
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, interesting that it can be done though!